" 'Jes 'cause you from Merlin don't mean you can pay no-never-mind to them signs." A Washington, DC cab driver pointed this out to me after my car had been towed on Wisconsin Avenue. The way he said it made it sound like poetry. You can read more about the incident in the post of November 17, 2007. This blog will be about my life in Maryland, where we have lived for over 40 years.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Seven years ago today . . .

Where was I on 9/11?

I was working for an agency of the federal government in suburban Washington. Suddenly someone yelled, "Turn on the TV!" We watched in horror as the second plane crashed into the tower. By 9:15 AM, the place shut down and we were all sent home.

Because of long-standing security concerns, the facility was already walled off with cement barriers. The gates, meant to keep the bad guys out, now became frustrating bottlenecks. The exit process was grimly quiet and orderly, but we felt like sitting ducks. Getting out of that parking lot took forever.

The last person to learn of the attack was our friend and my husband's co-worker, David. He was still at home that morning, because he had to take his mother to the doctor. As usual, he had not turned on his old black-and-white TV.

The doctor's office called. "We're closing the building. You'll have to reschedule."

David assumed they must have had a water-main break. He puttered around all morning, finally leaving for work about noon. He turned on his car radio and heard ". . .worse than Pearl Harbor." That certainly sounded ominous, but he still hadn't a clue. When he reached the agency, he found all the gates closed but one.

About Me

I've been married for nearly 54 years to the "Tree Hugger." We're both retired. We have two daughters, both married and living nearby. The older one has a 14-year-old son. The younger one has an 8-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. Our dog, Dilly, is a feist who is also two and still acts like a puppy. I like to read, listen to music, play the piano, sing in the choir, and participate in dance classes at the local senior center.